In less than 2 months, I will celebrate 1 year of freelancing with the Mac. It’s been the most educational year of my life. I learned about CSS and PHP, taxes and marketing, faith, patience and the power of being positive. I’ve also seen why the freelancing lifestyle is a cyclical return to the past, and how the Mac is the ultimate freelancer’s tool.
Take a moment and come with the to that little house on the prairie. Yes, I’m talking about Ma, Pa and Laura Ingalls Wilder. When Pa wasn’t saving the day (and making modern-day fathers like me feel inadequate), he was making furniture. It wasn’t Pa’s job to make furniture — there was no time clock to punch or office to occupy for 8 hours a day — it was his work. If you needed a chest-of-drawers, you went to see Pa. Got the flu? Call Doc Baker. Need some pestering done on your behalf? That Nellie Olson is always available. None of them had jobs, but they all created work.
The industrial revolution changed all of that. Instead of laboring at his little house, Pa would have found himself in a factory with a clipboard and a typewriter. He would have worked for the same company in the same physical location for the rest of his entire physical life (this is a metaphorical Pa, of course. Even with this awesome Dad Powers, he couldn’t have lived that long). At that point, Pa would have had a job.
That was the process for decades. Go to the office, perform your job and then go home. Now it’s 2009 and the model that my father adhered to — work for the same company for 35 years, get a gold watch and retire — is dead. Technological advances, automation and overseas outsourcing have eliminated the majority of those production jobs. Freelances like me don’t have jobs, we create work. Just like Pa.
In fact, if you look up the word “job” you notice that many of its meanings — a task, something to be done, an assignment — apply to work both as it existed in the Pre-Industrial Age and will exist in the future. Yet the world is still most often used in the sense that it took on during the Industrial Age — a permanent, full-time position with a single employer. For that reason, I suggest swapping “job” with “work.”
“Job” bears roughly the same relation to “work” that “orange” does to “fruit.” If you go to the store with your heart set on oranges and a bad winter has caused a shortage, you’ll end up disappointed. If you go looking for fruit instead, you’re likely to find a variety of ways to satisfy your taste and appetite.
When a worker has a job, s/he knows exactly what must be done in order to secure a paycheck. The chance that she will do anything beyond what’s required is slim. And why should she? She’s paid do perform her job as described and that’s all she’ll do.
Now, if she doesn’t have a job but is creating work, her choices increase tremendously. She knows her skills and what employers want. She’s free and motivated — heck, required — to move beyond what’s expected and consider what would benefit an employer; what would benefit her; what artful and beneficial way she can apply her skills to solve a problem (fruit, anyone?).
I’m happily creating work and thrilled to be doing it with a Mac which, incidentally, has undergone a transformation of its own.
Years ago, Apple’s slogan was “Think Different.” From the Crazy Ones ad to the Jolly Roger at Cupertino, Apple set their machines apart. No, they don’t operate like every other personal computer and that was the point. Many of us loved the branding. Many more did not. Then something happened while Windows conquered the business world.
Apple offered a free and painless way to run Windows on any new Mac. Suddenly, those machines went from being “different” to being “special.” Yes, they can run that mission-critical, Windows-only software, plus all this other cool stuff. In short, there’s nothing this machine can’t do. It’s the sharpest tool in my kit.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to write all about freelancing with the Mac. I’ll cover everything that’s been a part of my experience. I hope you’ll read along and get something out of it.
Over the past few months, people have asked me, “…knowing what you now know, would you go freelance today if you had a full time job?” My answer is always “Yes.” But the reason might surprise you.
It’s not because I like working while watching TV in my underwear. In fact, that hasn’t happened yet. It’s because I feel more secure creating my own work than I would at a job.
The model that my dad worked under — stay with the company for 35 years, get the gold watch and then retire — is dead. The Internet is rapidly replacing the middleman. In fact, economist Alan Blinder estimates that 28 million service jobs could succumb to offshoring*. The company I left in 2008 shut its doors after 50 years (I had been there for 15) with 4 months notice. When that happened, I learned that relying on a single source of income won’t fly in 2009.
Now, I’m learning the difference between “having a job” and “creating work.” When I had a job, I sat behind my desk and performed the tasks that would generate a paycheck. No more and no less. It was a drain on me (boredom) and my employer (no innovation from me). Neither of us grew or changed.
The benefit of creating work is twofold. First, I’m never bored. I get to move from one interesting project to another, each with its own challenges and rewards. Additionally, my employers benefit because, if I’m going to survive, I must continually think of new things to offer. As Michael Scott would say, “It’s a win/win/win situation.”
Working as a blogger, I’m very lucky in that I have no overhead, employees, inventory or office space. All I need to do my job is an internet-enabled computer, some software and whatever brain cells my children haven’t destroyed. Still, there are plenty of opportunities to save money. Here are a few of my favorites.
Find free Wi-Fi
Ideally, I’d work from home every day. The Wi-Fi is already paid for, as is the heat, electricity and food. However, I must occasionally put pants on** and go outside. Be it for a meeting or a need for adult interaction, sometimes I’m tempted to go to Starbucks, the Chocolate Sparrow, etc. When that happens, I end up at the library.
I’ve written about this before, but I love working at the library. The Wi-Fi is free, there are plenty of wall sockets to plug into, it’s quiet, the tables are huge and all the reference material you’d ever want is within arm’s reach. When I’m at a coffee shop, my thoughts are competing with the din of music and nearby conversations, while my wallet begs for a drink, a muffin, and so on. Now, if you really dislike the library idea …
Find cooperative office space
These are starting to pop up all over the country. For a very small fee, you can get access to a desk, internet, printer and often more at a cooperative office. Plus, you’ll have a chance to do some networking and meet like-minded people, all without the full cost of renting an office the traditional way.
Free or less-expensive software alternatives
This one is quite straight forward. There’s a free or low-cost alternative to nearly every piece of software you can think of. For example, I haven’t used Microsoft Office in many years. Instead, I use ThinkFree Office. It’s absoutely free and exports/imports Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents beautifully. Google Docs is another popular choice.
Photoshop.com offers free image editing that’s more comprehensive than you might think, and a free PBWiki account will help you keep everything organized.
The Latte Factor
In his book The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach talks about “The Latte Factor.” Basically, he encourages people to consider what they spend on little things. Sure, four bucks for a latte is nothing. But drink one each weekday, that’s $80/mo. or $960/year.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you can’t enjoy a coffee now and then. But there are more economical ways to enjoy it. My vice is tea. At the coffee shop, it’s a couple of bucks for a cup. Brewing it at home, I pay $0.62 per cup.
So there are a few of my favorites. I hope you found this useful.
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*Mannes, George (2009, February). Be prepared for the long haul. Money, 87-89.
**OK, I lied.
